Sunday, March 1, 2009

Another building!

We finally had a place to stay, even if it was an old trailer. The little Mennonite house was still just a shell. At this time, we're still just making trips down. This was about our fifth trip. Before heading home we were able to get a sealer on the siding so that it'll have a little protection from the sun and rain.

While all this excitement was going on, we found a wonderful builder by the name of Amelio Coc. We'd been visiting friends in Succotz who have a great wooden guest house and had just moved into their gorgeous new cement house. The style and craftsmanship were terrific. Their builder was Amelio, whom they'd discovered working at the Trek Stop. Word-of-mouth is the best advertising. Kathleen & Anton's projects had come to an end, so we grabbed the chance. What a stroke of luck. We discussed our ideas and plans with Amelio and he agreed to come work with us at our farm.

I haven't discussed much about what we want to do here. We have limited resources and are looking, not for an American life, but a simple Belizian life in a wooden house. A dear friend had put up a small house and wanted to later put up an adjacent guest house. We fell in love with that idea and quickly stole it!

Also, since we're so far off-grid, we'll have to supply our own electricity and water. What an exciting project for a couple of not-so-young folks who had just celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary.

Anyway, we asked Amelio to start by building our little 2-bedroom guest house. He had a wonderful suggestion of building a concrete block bodega with the guest house on the top. Eureka! This solved so many problems for us. We were collecting a few tools and will be able to use the bodega to house our solar system and lots of other supplies. Already, Amelio was making our dream more reasonable.

After getting the house up the hill, we had to call on the Cambreras Lumber fellows to haul three more truckloads of supplies up the hill before we headed back to Oregon. Getting tired of paying for airline tickets, but having a house in Oregon for sale and my job keep sending us back. (All this activity was happening in Nov. 2008).

In Feb. 2009, we once again, traveled to our little farm. What a wonderful site to meet us. Dear Amelio and crew had the shell of our guest house complete. It's just two bedrooms and will have a simple bathroom and a veranda at the end. All this sits on top of the bodega. Amelio is a true treasure. When we can be down for a longer period of time, we'll finish the wall between the rooms and try to finish it. For the time being, Amelio and his son Luis are camping in it.

About Me

This blog was created by Gale as Art isn't really interested in the computer stuff. We're slowly making the transition from living in a log house we built ourselves in Bend, OR to our little place in Belize. Trying to be self-sufficient with solar power & collecting roof water. We'll see. It's difficult to leave two adult children and 5 grandchildren, but want to create a haven for them from the pressures of living in the US. Time will tell how successful we are. Hope you'll email and possibly visit us in Belize.